Oyster wins Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Washington, D.C. ‘s At-Large District

When asked what inspired the creation of Oyster, the student said, “Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, national data has shown that people are leaving their houses and neighborhoods less and less; I see it myself in my own activities and those of my friends and family.  It is easy to stick to one’s own immediate area and not explore other parts of the city.  In the context of the increasing polarization of the US, this becomes an even bigger problem because even when there are so many people from so many diverse backgrounds living so close together, people don’t explore and interact with the other cultures and neighborhoods nearby so they can’t learn from them and build cross-community bridges.

With Oyster, I wanted to encourage people to do just that and to not only see everything that DC has to offer, but especially to interact with the wide breadth of cultures and communities in this city. Even though the app is centered around DC currently, I hope that eventually the app could expand, or inspire others like it. Experiencing other places and meeting people with other backgrounds than you is one of the best ways to fight prejudice and bias, and in many places around the country you don’t need to travel hours or have a lot of money to interact with other cultures. That’s the point of Oyster, to help people explore different communities without traveling or spending a lot of money: exploration for every budget, person, and goal.”